South View downs Gray's Creek 43-29 in Battle of the Bridge

Saturday

The Tigers scored five times in the second half, three on punt returns, for the win.

HOPE MILLS — South View, struggling to ignite against a stingy Gray’s Creek defense, found itself in uncharted territory at halftime Friday, trailing by a touchdown.

Coach Rodney Brewington had to remind the team that its best offensive weapons — Emery Simmons and Matthew Pemberton — didn’t need a snap to score.

“I told them, ‘Don’t forget that we’ve got the two best return guys in the county, so they’re going to have to make a decision if we get a stop,’ ” Brewington said. “Sure enough, the kids bought into it.”

The Tigers scored five times in the second half, including three on punt returns, to plow ahead for a 43-29 win in the rivalry, dubbed the Battle of the Bridge.

Pemberton took off for a 56-yard return, giving the Tigers’ their first lead at 19-14 with 5:50 to play in the third quarter.

Not to be outdone, Simmons returned the Bears’ next punt 68 yards and added another touchdown on a punt return — this one from 79 yards out — in the fourth quarter.

It was part of a five-touchdown night for Simmons, who played in all three phases for the Tigers. He caught two passes for scores, ending the night with three catches for 46 yards.

“I have a lot of faith in my guys. When it comes crunch time, they know how to bear down and get the job done,” Simmons said. “I’ll run behind Matt anytime. I’ll block for him or any of the guys. And they block for me all the time.”

The win leaves South View (9-1 overall) atop the Patriot 4-A/3-A Conference at 6-1 with Pine Forest, which will play its Week 10 game at Overhills on Monday.

Gray’s Creek (7-3, 5-2) slipped into a tie for second place, but if the Bears can beat Terry Sanford in their final regular-season game, they’ll be the top 3-A team in the split conference.

The Bears opened the game with a pair of stops, forcing a turnover on downs on the Tigers’ opening drive and a punt on their next series.

Gray’s Creek’s Jerry Garcia Jr. had the first trip into the end zone, picking up a pair of blocks on the right side for a 32-yard touchdown.

Garcia scored three times, twice on offense and once on defense when he returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown.

South View answered his first score, with quarterback Donovan Brewington finding Simmons in the end zone to tie the score at 7, but the Bears came right back when Garcia broke through the defense for a 90-yard touchdown.

The Bears held the lead at 14-7 through halftime.

The Tigers sparked on their first drive of the second half, taking advantage of a start inside Gray’s Creek territory that ended with a 40-yard scoring run by Denarea McMillan.

South View scored on its next four chances, with Simmons mixing his second TD catch of the night among the team’s three punt return scores.

“We lost because we couldn’t cover a punt,” Gray’s Creek coach David Lovette said. “We got beat on special teams, and that doesn’t happen to us very often.”

Staff writer Jaclyn Shambaugh can be reached at jshambaugh@fayobserver.com or 910-609-0651.

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